January 5, 2011 - Luis Armando Peña Soltren was
sentenced on Tuesday to 15 years in prison for his
participation in the November 24, 1968, hijacking of
Puerto Rico bound Pan American flight 281 to Havana, Cuba.

After almost 41 years as a fugitive, Peña Soltren, 67, a U.S. citizen, voluntarily returned to the United States
in October 2009 and surrendered to federal authorities.
Peña Soltren pled guilty in March before U.S. District
Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: "Today’s
sentence of Luis Armando Pena Soltren for the violent
hijacking in which he participated more than four
decades ago should send a strong message that we will
vindicate the interests of justice no matter how long it
takes.

This was a
heinous crime and the punishment is appropriate. It is another
example of our commitment to working with our partners at the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice's
Office of International Affairs, and the Department of State
Bureau of Diplomatic Security, to bring criminals to justice
wherever they may seek refuge and regardless of the passage of
time."

According
to the Complaint and Indictment previously filed in
Manhattan federal court and the guilty plea
proceeding on November 24, 1968, Peña Soltren, along with
coconspirators Jose Rafael Rios Cruz and Miguel Castro, boarded
Pan American flight 281 bound for San Juan, Puerto Rico.
After the airplane took flight, the defendants, wielding pistols
and knives, forced their way into the cabin of the airplane and
ordered the crew to land in
Havana, Cuba.

Cruz, 69,
was apprehended in 1975 and Castro, 80, was apprehended in 1976.
Both ultimately pled guilty to threatening the lives of flight
crew members. Cruz and Castro were sentenced to 15 years in
prison and 12 years in prison, respectively, for their roles in
the Pan American flight 281 hijacking. Alejandro Figueroa, who
was charged as a co-conspirator in the case, was acquitted in
1969 after a bench-trial before U.S. District Judge Edward
Weinfeld.

Peña
Soltren pled guilty on March 18, 2010, to the following charges:
(1) conspiracy to commit air piracy, to interfere with flight
crew members, and to kidnap; (2) interfering with flight crew
members; and (3) kidnapping.

During the sentencing
proceeding, U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein described
PEÑA Soltren's actions as "considerably more serious" than those
of his co-conspirators.

This case was the result of the coordinated efforts of
the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of
New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S.
Department of State, and the U.S. Department of
Justice's Office of International Affairs. Mr. Bharara
thanked them for their outstanding work.